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Pip not only pulls off the ritual but manages to instruct on its meaning. Varret manages to capture the enigmatic nature of the verse as well.
Gurmire's haiku is too on the nose, Packet's verse is too free (the figure seems to enjoy formal verse), Zarindlara's logic too circular, and Keats's limerick is… well… it's a limerick.
However, your reputation once again precedes you and saves you. The figure dips their proboscis and allows you to pass.
The dance is more intense up here in the aether. Masked dancers sweat and jostle one another, lost in the rhythm of the music. You watch a group of Bhopanese dancers slip and fall, tumbling down onto a floating knoll. At first, they seem unharmed… but your horror, you notice they've been changed by the fey magic of the dance.
One man stumbles on his new pig trotter feet. His companion puts his arm around him… but the arm is now a pathetically tiny chicken wing. A lady's bustle twitches just before a huge squirrel tail bursts out. She chitters, showing off her new buck teeth. Her companion tries to laugh, but only brays like an ass because his face has changed into that of a donkey's.
There seem to be harsh penalties for failure. You wonder whether the effects are permanent. You also wonder just how much goodwill you've got left to cash in for when you fail.
★★★★★★
A Rousing Waltz — Phase 2!
Gurmire
BOOM Boy
Packet
Pip
Varret
Zarindlara
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Annoyed that once again no one wants to talk with the goblin, Gurmire launches back out into the dance. Although he listens to the music, now he is trying to put some of the more subtle moves into his dance. He also tries to use that scarf he had made, it is so colorful there should be some way to integrate it into the dance!
He doesn’t quite have the hang of it yet...
Pip and Varret each help the injured party. Pip thinks it's some kind of curse and that they have debilitating effects (the squirrel-woman seems unable to concentrate, the pig-trotter seems to be hobbled, etc); while she cannot help them get their usual features back she and Varret treat bruises and help them get out of the way of other dancers, who might trample them. They wait for Keats to finish up…
Gurmire relies on some of your fast-spending goodwill to achieve his spinning flourish with the help of fellow dancers. Packet, likely finds that even if he WANTS to stop the rhythm, he cannot.
Zarindlara, likewise, finds she needs her fellow dancers to lift her up — depending on the notoriety you've earned as Pathfinders. But it seems that recognition is now run out, and the dance continues…
★★★★★★
A Rousing Waltz — Phase 2 Round 1
Gurmire
BOOM Boy
Packet
Pip
Varret
Zarindlara
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"Keats, can you help us with the injured?"
"There's a fair chance of that, Milady!"
Keats bounds over from from where he had been locked in a sweaty dance-off with a hirsute, cigar-smokin' wolverine-faced cove.
♫ Let the rhythm ride you, guide you
Sneak inside you, set your mind to <beat> move
To its pulsations, bass vibrations
Sense sensation <beat> pause is not implicit
Mind and body must be free too
Please take it all away nothing to lose
Everything to <beat> win ♫
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Pip swirls her skirts as she sings in a show number with many of their Bhopanese friends! Starting with the dashing fox, she sings:
♫ Hello, Bauer
You look good with flowers
It's so nice to dance up here where I belong! ♫
She swirls through the crowd to the owlish matron.
♫ You're looking swell, Ka’aihue
Is your cigar still chewy?
It’s still glowin', smoke-a-flowin’
Like a giant bong!
We feel the room swayin’
And the band's playin'
Elegant masquerade songs from when it all began...
So let’s all clap, fellas!
Tell me there’s beer on tap, fellas!
Great things does this portend!
Hello Bhopan!
Well, Hello Bhopan!
It's so nice to be welcomed and belong! ♫
She dances in around the elegant rabbit man, courteying.
♫ Check out those ears, Tinkers,
I have no fears, Tinkers
The gossip’s flowin’, you’re still showin’
You’re intel’s pure and strong.
We feel the room swayin'
For the band's playin'
The masquerade songs from 'way back when
So that’s that, fellas
Stayin' where I'm at, fellas
Hopin’ to never stray again ♫
Pip waves to the moth-woman, waltzing around her for a second.
♫ Here is where I met Marichal with her lovely wings
I’m learning Bhopan’s ways
Learning dance, accepting what fortune brings
Let our friendship be better than the bad old days
Hello Bhopan!
Well, Hello Bhopan!
It's so nice to be welcomed and belong
Never mention Autumn without Spring
Thank our gracious host and King
The wind’s blowin’ and up we keep goin’
It’s a blessed mix of dance and song!
We feel the room swayin'
For the band's playin'
The masquerade songs from 'way back when
So glad we had this chat, fellas
This party was all that, fellas
Hopin’ to never stray again
Hopin’ to make lots of friends
Hopin’ to dance with you all again! ♫
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Guess I have to do it to song...
I know a good song for them!
Gurmire starts with a cartwheel out on the floor, then starts doing gymnastics while singing. His bracelets jangle and his scarf sweeps up and down as he moves.
“When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical
And as we burned the trees, well they'd be crackling so happily
Oh joyfully, playfully watching me
But then they take me away to teach me how to be sensible
Logical, responsible, a constable!
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable
Oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical
There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've burned
I know it sounds absurd
Please tell me who I am!
I said, watch what you burn or they'll be calling you a radical
Liberal, oh pyromanical, criminal
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're acceptable
Respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable
Oh, take it take it yeah
But at night, when all the world's asleep
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
Please tell me who I am, who I am, who I am, who I am
'Cause I was feeling so logical
P-P-Pivotal
One, two, three, five
Oh, oh, oh, oh
It's getting unbelievable”
You ascend to the highest levels of the dance. Here, the air is clear and the dancers sparse. There is a puffy cloud floating up here, and on that cloud is a wooden throne. On the throne is the bat-eared "majordomo" who began the masquerade. He lounges there, holding court above the dancers. He wears a small diadem of flowers and fans his golden-masked masked face; powder falls off his wig and mixes into the pollen below. His twelve royal guards are dressed as the Wild Hunt (a goat-legged leader, a snake with a flickering tongue, three lithe archers with extra arms and extra fingers on each hand, three proud stags with majestic horns, and four terrible grinning old wolves).
When he sees you the majordomo suddenly sits up straight and whispers to the head guard. This guard then nods and takes up a naturally-shaped driftwood case from behind the throne. He then approaches; you notice this guard seems supernaturally tall by some trick of the costume's long goat-legs, and his lambent green eyes illuminate your face in verdant fire. The figure silently places the box at your feet, and departs. Inside is a an alabaster mask decorated with elaborate inlays with seasonal motifs. It's magical.
It seems someone is impressed enough with your performance here at the masquerade that you have received an expensive and perhaps powerful gift as a sign of their favor. You take this to mean that you've done quite well at your goal of impressing the Bhopanese!
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Pip picks it up, and is ecstatic when she sees what it is. "I've heard of these. It's a Persona Mask!" She curtseys to the Major Domo.
She dons it, and tries it out, singing and spinning her skirts once more.
♫ The seasons they go round and round
The Bhopanese dancers they go up and down
Entranced in the Masquerade's design
No going back we can only find
The path to heaven's aim
As we go round and round and round
In the circle game. ♫
Then glowing, she takes it off again and says to the room, "Thank you for such a gracious and thoughtful gift!"
You return to enjoying the festivities, perhaps a little relieved that things have gone so well even without Lelzeshin — who you still cannot find.
An hour later, four shrill alarms echo through the masquerade. The music falters for a moment and the revelers pause, milling on confusion. As they do they drift slowly downwards (as does the pollen) before picking up the beat as if it never stopped and rising once again.
The show must go on… but not for you. You see the King's guards — his "wild hunt" — pushing through the crowd in your direction. Without any ceremony, they escort you back to his cloud-court at an alarming pace that sends ripples of anxiety through the crowd.
The king awaits. He takes off his mask to show a grave face and his bat-ears droop. We thank you for heeding our summons quickly. (As if you had a choice.) We know you, as guests, may be concerned about the alarms. We shall tell you. Each alarm represents a fellow Bhopanese's lifeblood being shed. The place where these alarms watch is none other than the entrance to the royal vault.
We must now educate you outsiders on something that even Bhopanese children know. The vault itself is lethal to all Bhopanese, with two exceptions: members of the Bhopanese royal family may enter as they will, and outsiders such as yourself — those who do not carry our peoples' blood. The king pauses. We are always and closely watching our relatives, and so they are accounted for and deemed innocent of this grave crime.
Many in our court are surprised and disbelieving that you outsiders have not robbed us and that you have nothing to do with this. We shall see; we know you are seemingly innocent as well, as we have watched you acquit yourselves adequately at the masquerade.
We wish you to do Bhopan a service. You will enter the vault with our express permission (for to do otherwise would require that we justly execute you by bathing you in the acid of a pitcher-plant); therein you shall apprehend whatever criminals you find, and bring them to us so that we may dispense justice. Our "Wild Hunt" will show you the way, and we will de-activate what magical wards we can.
The king turns and whispers to another attendant; it seems you're dismissed. No time for questions.
The guards take you towards the castle and then slip between petals of the orchid-wall, and you move through a maze of organic passages. They soon turn to worked stone —you sense that you're now below the palace. Magical wards flicker and die, then spring back to life behind you. You're getting close.
You find yourselves at the entrance of a stone chamber, lit diffusely from magical light set in the ceiling fifteen feet above. The guards will not enter this room, and explain that it's the entrance to the vault, not the vault itself. They don't know how to actually get inside and aren't very willing to discuss the taboo subject. The chamber has four alcoves, as well as a ceremonial staircase that ends in an imposing black metal door. Behind that door is the vault.
On the floor of each of the alcoves is a mosaic that wraps around an L-shaped stone wall segment. The outer walls of each alcove are shrouded in fog.
Each of the alcoves sports a different mosaic on its floor that depicts a scene that is iconic of one of the four seasons; these mosaics wrap around L-shaped walls as well. In the inner corner of each L-shaped wall, there is a keyhole. The body of a Bhopanese person is slumped against the wall of each of the alcoves, just beneath the keyhole. Each area is misted with a light fog. (I know someone will ask; you must enter the fog before examining a body to see how it died. There is no blood on the floor.)
What do you do?
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As they are being escorted away, Pip, still wearing ballgown and dancing slippers, asks, "Your Majesty King Webhekiz, Fourth of His Name, Chosen Sovereign of Bhopan by the Grace of the Four Seasons, I agree that matters are urgent. Still, can you send a guard for our weapons? I failed to bring any armaments to the Masquerade, as they did not go with my ballgown. If we are to apprehend villains, I would like to have all our tools at our disposal."
As they are marched off, Pip is fuming slightly. She loves delightful Bhopan, and feels a tie here that she has felt to no other nation. If anywhere in the world other than Absalom would be her home, it would be this place. But this King! One minute, accusing them of being thieves. The next minute showering them with gifts, only to threaten them once more with the fate of being hung upside down in a pitcher plant. For the first time, Pip is feeling some sympathy for the rebel fey that they met.
As they step inside, Pip says, "Group Huddle." Then she breathes deeply and whispers, "Did anyone else notice that not only is Lelzeshin missing, but that he was really, really disappointed that we elected not to go to the Vault? And now... the vault has been broken into... and there are four bodies lying there in the fog... Did anyone see Lelzeshin's friends: Bauer, Marichal, Ka’aihue and Tinkers at the Masquerade?* If we see any of their bodies here... We'll know who's in the vault."
"I'd like to see if we recognize these fallen people, and see if they are still alive."
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“Their culture always has...” Gurmire starts to say as Pip and Varret move to examine the scene. Gurmire gives a frustrated sigh, then continues. “...opposite seasons in response to each other. I think it is important we have someone at each season.”
“I guess I will look in Spring, someone else please look in winter.”
He gives people a chance to reply, then heads towards the spring mosaic.
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"Group Huddle."
“Sorry, Varret. I thought she said ‘Group Cuddle.’”
Keats decides BOOM Boy has served his purpose and changes into new Bhopan-tailored fighter Cosplay duds.
The success of the dance and his residual sweaty make-up combine to make the choreographer feel like a new man!
Though I didn’t have the chance to explain why I turned my weapons and armor into gold <pout>
"Let's spread out, see if anyone's here."
“I’m up for it.”
On arrival, Keats looks southward, delighted to see Varret and his bow. “I’d suggest keeping at least one other person in sight for mutual support.”
“FYI people, I don’t ◈ stride. I ◈ Strut.”
★★★★★★
Pip moves to Winter. Packet to Spring, Keats to Summer, and Varret to Fall. Gurmire wonders aloud about the opposites of seasons and makes his way toward Spring, ending near the edge of the fog. This all happens at the same time.
As Zarindlara and Gurmire watch, everyone who steps into the fog vanishes!
You are pulled into a desolate and cold wintry landscape. You look around, and there doesn't seem to be a way out. Just empty, freezing hills as far as your eye can see…
Suddenly, negative energy washes over you from some unknown source. Please make a basic reflex save.
You suddenly find yourself standing in a grassy field on a warm summer's day. Puffs of clouds float by in the sky overhead and the cicadas sing. You turn around — nothing but fields forever, as far as the eye can see…
As you are looking at the body, you are pulled deeper into the fog and find yourself in an endless forest of autumn trees; the colorful leaves rustle at your feet. There's no way back!
You feel a wave of energy wash over you. Please make a basic reflex save.
★★★★★★
The Puzzle of Four Seasons; Bold is up!
Spring
Fall
Zarindlara
Gurmire Outside, next to Spring Alcove
Keats
Winter
Packet
Summer
Pip
Varret
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Gurmire shouts "Oh oh! Packet just vanished!" Gurmire then looks behind him and adds "I can't see Pip either!"
Still yelling, he adds "Since I am closer to where Packet disappeared, I am going to check on them. Can someone else please check on Pip?"
Gurmire slowly advances to where Packet went, trying to figure out what happened to him.
Gurmire notices a tiny arc of dark energy writhing among the spring flowers of the motif. It looks like a sensor of some kind. He also notices a carving of a halfling wearing a hat and sweater inside the artwork… it looks a lot like Packet!
Zarildlara moves closer and looks around, but doesn't hear any response from Pip.
★★★★★★
The Puzzle of Four Seasons; Bold is up!
The fog is withing 10 feet of each L-shaped alcove.
Spring
Fall
Zarindlara
Gurmire
Keats Inside Summer
Winter
Packet
Summer
Pip
Varret
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Pip looks glumly around this desolate winter landscape, in her flimsy summer dress. The skirt is still flaring out in the wind, and her legs are so cold! Shivering, she tries to wrap her arms around herself. "Good going, Pip. You walked towards Winter in a Summer dress, and now you're going freeze--" She breaks off, realizing that the body below her is burned. Not frozen to death. Burned.
"Okay, so the body is burned, in WINTER. It's the opposites thing again!" She peers at the keyhole, and then searches the body for the key. "Oh! Oh! What if this person was using the wrong key and that was why they got burned? Did they make the mistake of not taking the Season's opposite into account?!"
If the key is in the keyhole, Pip will step back, and use Prestidigitation to pull the key out of the keyhole. She has no desire to turn into another corpse on the floor. "This is likely illusion. In fact, it is PROBABLY illusion. But I am not going to burn to death in an illusion of a blizzard, no I am not!"
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Am I still in the same fey-touched room?
Keats considers the body. Old Mate probably opened up Summerland with Jack Frost’s key, and I’ve slipped through the open door like a frozen, starving racoon looking for warmth.
So the question is, how do I get back/turn off the illusion?
If I am still in the dungeon with the others, maybe the keyhole is still here and the key is on Old Mate’s body?
So maybe I try finding the key, the keyhole – disbelieving Summerland as an illusion if necessary – and find a way to open a Winter Wonderland with Frosty’s key?
While Pip thinks about what's going on she finds out that this place IS real: she is blasted with fiery heat from an unknown source just as she feared!
Please make a fortitude save.
There wasn't a key in the keyhole or on the body either, nor does she see one here.
Suddenly, Pip pops out of the motif! She's standing next to the pillar and she has a key in her hand that’s made of ice.
Keats materializes outside with a key in his hand as well. He has a golden key in hand; it’s hot to the touch.
Zarindlara and Gurmire can hear and see both Keats and Pip.
★★★★★★
The Puzzle of Four Seasons; Bold is up!
Spring
Fall
Zarindlara
Gurmire
Keats
Winter
Pip
Packet
Summer
Varret
Pip dodges all the fire, saving her pretty dress! Bot a thread is singed!
A moment later Packet and Varret appear — but they feel like they have been lost in these seasonal worlds for hours.
In Packet's free hand is a key made of honeycombs locked in amber.
In Varret's hand is a key made of tough, colorful leaves or red and gold.
Cold leaps out from the motif near Keats, and shocks him with a blast of winter!
instead
★★★★★★
Pip dodges all the fire, saving her pretty dress! Not a thread is singed!
A moment later Packet and Varret appear — but they feel like they have been lost in these seasonal worlds for hours.
In Packet's free hand is a key made of honeycombs locked in amber.
In Varret's hand is a key that looks like a twisted, bare branch.
Cold leaps out from the motif near Keats, and shocks him with a blast of winter!
instead
★★★★★★
We'll pause initiative there so you can speak in-character for a moment, gathering you together at the center of the room. Let's hear what theories you have as to how to solve this puzzle and unlock the vault.
You might also think of ways to bypass the traps, now that you know they're there. This might also be useful since you will have to approach again to insert the key in the lock, possibly setting off the traps again.